SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Want to grow your own vegetables? Students at Hawthorn Academy in South Jordan are doing just that, minus the soil.
"I want to grow a farm or a garden," Grace Egege, a second-grade student in the program, told FOX 13 News. "This is going to help us when we get older."
She and her classmates are growing vegetables through Hydroponics, a method used to grow plants and veggies without any soil. Just water and nutrients doing the work. The roots soak up nutrients straight from water, which means you can grow more in less space, use less water, and do it indoors.
"I’ve never seen basil leaves as big as you get out of the hydroponics, they’re the size of your hand!" Joy Leavitt, STEM coordinator and teacher at Hawthorn Academy, said.
Hawthorn Academy's program is through Utah STEM Action Center — an organization that partners with Utah State University, Intermountain Health, Green our Planet, and the Utah STEM Foundation to support hydroponics programs statewide. So far, these hydroponics programs are in over 40 schools across Utah.
At Hawthorn Academy, with what they've grown, they've created all kinds of things, including lemon lip balm and pesto, according to Leavitt. "The one thing people need to understand about hydroponics is that they grow fast. They grow very fast," Tami Goetz, director of the Utah Stem Action Center, said.
But she says it's more than just growing plants. The program weaves multiple subjects into hands-on learning. "They've used the hydroponics systems to teach English language arts, they can learn chemistry skills, measuring the PH for growing conditions, they can learn plant science, environmental issues like water conservation," Goetz said.
She says the program also helps communities. It provides fresh produce to students in Utah's food deserts, including areas like Monument Valley, where fresh vegetables can be hard to find.
For more information and to support these programs, go to Stem Action Center.
